About Wilderness Trail
Wilderness Trail is a 501(c)3 North Carolina tax-exempt nonprofit organization that uses backpacking as a tool for discipleship. Our week-long Summer Events for youth take place between June and August each year. During May, September, and October we offer weekend experiences geared toward families where ages 5 and up can participate. Winter Events, geared towards youth, take place in Florida during February and March.
Although we pick a theme for each season, all our events touch on the Christian core issues of servant leadership, the body of Christ, overcoming challenges, self-worth, and unconditional love. Wilderness Trail's process is based on experiential learning and the belief that often faith is "caught more than taught." Through our events, hikers are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and experience the Christian journey at a deeper level.
The seeds for Wilderness Trail were planted in the late 70s and early 80s, when a young United Methodist minister named Rob Blackburn took the youth of his churches on summer backpacking trips. Rob believed that faith was “caught more than taught,” and these wilderness treks allowed his youth to “catch” things like servant leadership, working together as the body of Christ, overcoming challenges as people of faith, and finding joy in all situations. In the mid-80s, a businessman named L.B. Izzi joined one of these hikes. L.B. was deeply affected by his journey, and encouraged Rob to make his experience available to all youth.
Rob was hesitant, but L.B. was insistent – and in 1987 Rob’s annual hikes became an official 501(c)3 North Carolina nonprofit called Wilderness Trail. Although the logistics and finances were challenging, our founding leaders were encouraged by the transformations that took place after each week on trail. They saw self-centered youth serving others, self-conscious youth gaining confidence, and all youth experiencing God’s love, in their peers or in their surroundings, that they could carry back with them off the trail.
Over the past 24 years our ministry has steadily grown. In 1991 we purchased the 60+ acre “Property” in Troutdale, VA, a small town that borders the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area and the Appalachian Trail. In 2000 we completed our Lodge, allowing us to run all our programs from our own facilities in order to accommodate increasing registration.
Our leadership has grown as well, starting with the volunteers who drove the first decade of our ministry to 15 Summer Staff in 2010, a Summer Director, and a full-time Program Director and full-time Executive Director. Our ministry is guided by 18 board members, who meet 3 to 4 times annually. Although Wilderness Trail has grown substantially since the late 1980’s, the original mission to lead youth and adults on their spiritual journey with Christ through the physical journey of backpacking has not wavered. Today Wilderness Trail offers 6 week-long events for youth each summer. A summer event includes an opening retreat at our property, followed by 5 days and 45 miles of hiking in small groups with a Staff member, and a closing retreat at the property.
Weekend hikes in the fall and spring are geared towards families, and typically include an evening retreat, followed by a one or two night hike, with a one day closing retreat. Our new Winter Events take place in the Ocala National Forest in Florida during the colder months and are attended by youth 12 and up. We were blessed to host over 900 hikers in 2010 and expect to host even more this year. While Rob’s hikes during the first summer included 37 hikers from Western North Carolina, Wilderness Trail now welcomes hikers from all over the Southeast, including Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and Indiana.